Objective To investigate the clinical and diffusion imaging of brain damage in patients with neurosyphilis.Methods Eighty patients with neurosyphilis with brain damage were retrospectively selected as the study group,and were divided into mild group(n=38)and moderate to severe group(n=42)according to imaging results.Another 80 healthy subjects in the same period were selected as the control group.The values of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA)were compared among the three groups.Pearson test was used to analyze the correlation between ADC and FA values in various brain regions and cognitive function in patients with neurosyphilis brain damage.Results ADC values in parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe,basal gan-glia and hemioval center in moderate to severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group and control group,and FA values were significantly lower than those in mild group and control group(P<0.05).The results of Pearson analysis showed that the ADC and FA values of parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe and hemioval center were significantly correlated with Wechsler adult intel-ligence scale-revised of China(WAIS-RC)knowledge,WAIS-RC arithmetic,verbal fluency test(VFT),Montreal cognitive assess-ment(MoCA),forward digit span test(FDST),trail making test A(TMT-A)and trail making test B(TMT-B)scores(P<0.05).Conclusion The ADC and FA values of parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe,basal ganglia and hemioval center are closely related to the severity of brain damage,which is helpful for clinical diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the clinical and diffusion imaging of brain damage in patients with neurosyphilis.Methods Eighty patients with neurosyphilis with brain damage were retrospectively selected as the study group,and were divided into mild group(n=38)and moderate to severe group(n=42)according to imaging results.Another 80 healthy subjects in the same period were selected as the control group.The values of apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)and fractional anisotropy(FA)were compared among the three groups.Pearson test was used to analyze the correlation between ADC and FA values in various brain regions and cognitive function in patients with neurosyphilis brain damage.Results ADC values in parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe,basal gan-glia and hemioval center in moderate to severe group were significantly higher than those in mild group and control group,and FA values were significantly lower than those in mild group and control group(P<0.05).The results of Pearson analysis showed that the ADC and FA values of parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe and hemioval center were significantly correlated with Wechsler adult intel-ligence scale-revised of China(WAIS-RC)knowledge,WAIS-RC arithmetic,verbal fluency test(VFT),Montreal cognitive assess-ment(MoCA),forward digit span test(FDST),trail making test A(TMT-A)and trail making test B(TMT-B)scores(P<0.05).Conclusion The ADC and FA values of parieto-occipital lobe,frontal lobe,basal ganglia and hemioval center are closely related to the severity of brain damage,which is helpful for clinical diagnosis.

Objective To investigate the status of application of the central venous access in the departments of hematology to develop targeted administrative strategies and provide evidence for management.Methods A self-de-signed questionnaire was applied and convenience sampling was adopted in 93 hematology departments from 48 hospitals in 19 provinces(autonomous regions,municipalities).Results A total of 91 valid questionnaires were col-lected,with a valid questionnaire response rate of 97.85％.Among the 91 hematology departments,91(100％),73(80.22％),and 68(74.73％)carried out PICC,central venous catheter,and totally implantable access port catheteriza-tion,respectively.In the evaluation of blood test indicators before central venous access,the items with a higher e-valuation proportion were platelet count(100％)and D-dimer concentration(87.91％),while the evaluation proportion of other items was＜85％.When PICC catheterization,97.80％of hematology departments prefer basilic vein;83.52％of hematology departments used zone insertion method;95.60％of hematology departments had a skin disinfection range of ≥20 cm;98.90％of hematology departments had catheterization under ultrasound guidance;67.03％and 96.70％of hematology departments used the intracardiac electrocardiogram method or ultrasound assisted localiza-tion,postoperative X-ray localization;12.09％and 53.85％of hematology departments carried out tunnel catheteriza-tion and blunt separation expansion techniques,respectively.In terms of maintenance of central venous access de-vices,82.42％of hematology departments used disposable specialized maintenance kits;61.54％of hematology de-partments used transparent patches to fix PICC;45.21％of hematology departments used suture to fix central venous catheters;24.18％of hematology departments used cotton swabs to disinfect infusion joints;60.44％of hematology departments did not use disposable infusion joint disinfection cap;74.73％of hematology departments used gauze compression to prevent puncture site bleeding;only 6.59％hematology departments used antibacterial dressings con-taining chlorhexidine to prevent puncture site infections.In terms of quality management of central venous access devices,94.51％and 86.81％of hematology departments regularly conducted quality inspections of central venous access,and collected,calculated and analyzed relevant data.50.55％of hematology departments conducted complica-tion risk assessments,and 10.99％of hematology departments had established information management systems for venous therapy.Conclusion The implementation rate of PICC catheterization in the hematology department was relatively high,and the insertion operation basically meets the standard requirements.The evaluation before central venous access catheterization was relatively completed,and the maintenance and management are relatively stan-dardized.However,the evaluation of blood test indicators before the placement of central venous access urgently needs to be standardized and unified.When PICC catheterization,attention should be paid to the application of new technologies,and the information management of venous therapy needs to be improved.

AIM:To identify transcriptional differences between the ocular surface ectoderm(OSE)and surface ectoderm(SE)using RNA-seq, and elucidate the OSE transcriptome landscape and the regulatory networks involved in its development.METHODS:OSE and SE cells were differentiated from human embryonic stem(hES)cells. Differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between OSE and SE were analyzed using RNA-seq. Based on the DEGs, we performed gene ontology(GO)analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analysis, and protein-protein interaction(PPI)network analysis. Transcription factors(TFs)and hub genes were screened. Subsequently, TF-gene and TF-miRNA regulatory networks were constructed using the NetworkAnalyst platform.RESULTS:A total of 4 182 DEGs were detected between OSE and SE cells, with 2 771 up-regulated and 1 411 down-regulated genes in OSE cells. GO-BP analysis revealed that up-regulated genes in OSE were enriched in the regulation of ion transmembrane transport, axon development, and modulation of chemical synaptic transmission. Down-regulated genes were primarily involved in nuclear division, chromosome segregation, and regulation of cell cycle phase transition. KEGG analysis indicated that up-regulated genes in OSE cells were enriched in signaling pathways such as cocaine addiction, axon guidance, and amphetamine addiction, while down-regulated genes were enriched in proteoglycans in cancer, ECM-receptor interaction, protein digestion and absorption, and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction. Additionally, compared with SE, 204 TFs(including FOS, EGR1, POU5F1, SOX2, and PAX6)were up-regulated, and 80 TFs(including HAND2, HOXB6, HOXB5, HOXA5, and HOXB8)were down-regulated in OSE cells. Furthermore, we identified 6 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated hub genes in OSE cells, and constructed TF-gene and TF-miRNA regulatory networks based on these hub genes.CONCLUSIONS:The transcriptome characteristics of OSE and SE cells were elucidated through RNA-seq analysis. These findings may provide a novel insight for studies on the development and in vitro directed induction of OSE and corneal epithelial cells.

Background: Classical swine fever virus (CSFV), the causative agent of classical swine fever (CFS), is a highly contagious disease that poses a serious threat to Chinese pig populations. Objectives: Many provinces of China, such as Shandong, Henan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, and Liaoning provinces, have reported epidemics of CSFV, while the references to the epidemic of CSFV in Yunnan province are rare. This study examined the epidemic characteristics of the CSFV in Yunnan province. Methods: In this study, 326 tissue samples were collected from different regions in Yunnan province from 2015 to 2021. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), sequences analysis, and phylogenetic analysis were performed for the pathogenic detection and analysis of these 326 clinical specimens. Results: Approximately 3.37% (11/326) of specimens tested positive for the CSFV by RTPCR, which is lower than that of other regions of China. Sequence analysis of the partial E2 sequences of eleven CSFV strains showed that they shared 89.0–100.0% nucleotide (nt) and 95.0–100.0% amino acid (aa) homology, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these novel isolates belonged to the subgenotypes 2.1c and 2.1d, with subgenotype 2.1c being predominant. Conclusions The CSFV was sporadic in China’s Yunnan province from 2015 to 2021. Both 2.1c and 2.1d subgenotypes were found in this region, but 2.1c was dominant.

Objective:To summarize clinical characteristics of and treatment experience with patients with critical illnesses in a dermatological ward.Methods:All patients with serious or life-threatening conditions, who were hospitalized at the dermatological ward of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from July 9, 2011 to December 31, 2020, were collected, and their clinical data were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic characteristics, disease types and proportions, main complications, causes of serious or life-threatening conditions, important treatment measures and outcomes were summarized, and causes of death were also analyzed and discussed.Results:A total of 1 057 patients with critical illnesses were collected, with a male-to-female ratio of 1∶1.11, and 64.81% of them aged 18 to 65 years. The types of diseases mainly included drug eruptions (332 cases) , connective tissue diseases (226 cases) , bullous skin diseases (104 cases) , psoriasis (57 cases) , erythroderma (45 cases) , infectious skin diseases (67 cases) , etc. Among them, psoriasis (39 cases) and erythroderma (32 cases) mostly occurred in males, and connective tissue diseases (168 cases) mostly occurred in females. Common complications mainly involved infections, important organ damage or dysfunction, hypoalbuminemia, and fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. A total of 94 patients were diagnosed with life-threatening conditions, which were found to be mainly caused by primary skin diseases, hematologic abnormalities, respiratory failure, nervous system abnormalities, renal failure, sepsis, fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances, etc. During the management of critical illnesses, 43 patients were treated with high-dose glucocorticoid pulse therapy, 264 were treated with gamma-globulin pulse therapy, 355 were transfused with other blood products, and 34 received special therapies such as hemoperfusion/immunoadsorption therapy, plasma exchange, dialysis, artificial liver support therapy; 42 patients were transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) , 12 were transferred to the department of surgery for operations, and 12 were transferred to the department of obstetrics and gynecology for delivery or induction of labor. After treatment, 989 patients (93.57%) achieved improvement and were discharged. A total of 14 patients (1.32%) died, of whom 7 died of secondary sepsis, 2 died of severe pulmonary infections, 2 died of asphyxia caused by respiratory mucosa shedding-induced airway obstruction, the other 3 died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cerebral hemorrhage and neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus, respectively.Conclusions:Critical cases in the dermatological ward mainly suffered from serious skin diseases such as severe drug eruptions, connective tissue diseases and bullous skin diseases, as well as complications such as severe underlying diseases, severe organ dysfunction, sepsis or severe fluid, electrolyte and acid-base imbalances. In terms of treatment, it is of critical significance to make a clear diagnosis and assess the severity of disease as early as possible, monitor and prevent possible complications, and to consult with specialists in relevant disciplines in time.

Objective To investigate the changes of amplitude of T wave and ST segment between the supine and orthostatic electrocardiogram in children and adolescents with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Methods A total of 74 children and adolescents diagnosed as POTS by head-up tilt test (HUTT),who complained of unexplained dizziness,headache,syncope or other symptoms,were chosen as POTS group. A total of 64 children and adolescents who did the health check in our child health clinic were selected as control group by age and sex in the same period. All the cases in this study came from the syncope specialized clinic or inpatient department of the Second Xiangya Hospital,Central South University,from August 2013 to January 2016. The heart rate and the 12-lead T-wave and ST-segment amplitude of the supine and orthostatic electrocardiogram were measured by software and manual intervention. Results (1) Com-pared with supine electrocardiogram,the heart rate of orthostatic electrocardiogram of POTS group increased [(105. 2 ± 16. 3) times/ min vs. (83. 8 ± 18. 0) times/ min,t = - 7. 598,P < 0. 01],the T-wave amplitude decreased in lead Ⅰ[(0. 28 ± 0. 14) mV vs. (0. 33 ± 0. 11) mV,t = 2. 598,P < 0. 05],Ⅱ[(0. 28 ± 0. 12) mV vs. (0. 39 ± 0. 13) mV,t = 5. 340,P < 0. 01],Ⅲ[(0. 00 ± 0. 19) mV vs. (0. 07 ± 0. 11) mV,t = 3. 041, P < 0. 01],aVF[(0. 14 ± 0. 13) mV vs. (0. 23 ± 0. 11) mV,t = 4. 505,P < 0. 01],V4 [(0. 33 ± 0. 21) mV vs. (0. 51 ± 0. 23) mV,t = 4. 938,P < 0. 01],V5 [(0. 37 ± 0. 10) mV vs. (0. 50 ± 0. 15) mV,t = 7. 764,P <0. 01] and V6 [(0. 25 ± 0. 10) mV vs. (0. 37 ± 0. 10) mV,t = 7. 538,P < 0. 01],the T-wave amplitude in-creased in lead aVR[( - 0. 27 ± 0. 11) mV vs. ( - 0. 36 ± 0. 10) mV,t = - 5. 023,P < 0. 01],and the ST-segment amplitude increased in lead V 5 [(0. 07 ± 0. 04) mV vs. (0. 06 ± 0. 04) mV,t = - 2. 309,P < 0. 05]. (2) Compared with control group,the difference of heart rate of POTS group increased [( - 21. 4 ± 14. 0) times/ min vs. ( - 10. 7 ± 11. 4)times/ min,t = 4. 875,P < 0. 01],and the difference of T-wave amplitude in-creased in lead Ⅰ[(0. 05 ± 0. 10) mV vs. ( - 0. 01 ± 0. 15) mV,t = - 3. 161,P < 0. 01],Ⅱ[(0. 11 ± 0. 12) mV vs. (0. 07 ± 0. 12) mV,t = - 2. 243,P < 0. 05],V4 [(0. 18 ± 0. 18) mV vs. (0. 07 ± 0. 20) mV,t =- 3. 282,P < 0. 01],V5 [(0. 18 ± 0. 11) mV vs. (0. 14 ± 0. 13) mV,t = - 2. 013,P < 0. 05] and V6 [(0. 13 ± 0. 08) mV vs. (0. 08 ± 0. 10) mV,t = - 3. 364,P < 0. 01],and the difference of T-wave amplitude in-creased significant in lead aVR[( - 0. 09 ± 0. 08) mV vs. ( - 0. 03 ± 0. 08) mV,t = 4. 109,P < 0. 01]. (3) Logistic regression analysis:the difference of heart rate and T-wave amplitude in lead V5 and V6 on supine and orthostatic electrocardiogram was statistically valuable for the diagnosis of POTS (P < 0. 05). (4) Diag-nostic test evaluation:when the difference of heart rate ≥15 times/ min,of T-wave amplitude in lead V5 and lead V 6≥ 0. 10 mV separately,on supine and orthostatic electrocardiogram at the same time,the sensitivity of the diagnosis of POTS was 37. 8％ and the specificity was 81. 3％ . (5)The follow-up of children and adoles-cents with POTS showed no significant difference of T-wave amplitude and ST-segment amplitude on ortho-static and supine ECG comparing to the initial diagnosis,regardless of the type of HUTT reaction remained or turned negative (P >0. 05). Conclusion The difference of heart rate and of T-wave amplitude in lead V5 and V6 are valuable for the diagnosis of POTS in children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Anti-reflux barrier dysfunction is one of the primary mechanisms in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) pathogenesis. The esophagogastric junction contractile integral (EGJ-CI) is a new metric adopted to evaluate the EGJ contractility, which implies the anti-reflux barrier function. The aim of the current study was to validate this new metric in patients with GERD and its correlation with the esophageal acid exposure, as well as the efficacy of proton pump inhibitor treatment. METHODS: Ninety-eight patients with GERD and 21 healthy controls were included in the study. Upper endoscopy, high-resolution manometry (HRM) and 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance-pH monitoring were performed in all patients. Three respiration cycles were chosen at the initial HRM resting frame and the value computed with distal contractile integral tool was then divided by the duration of the cycles to yield EGJ-CI. All the patients were treated with esomeprazole 20 mg twice-daily for 8 weeks. RESULTS: EGJ-CI was lower in the patients with GERD than that of the controls (P < 0.05). For patients with GERD, EGJ-CI was lower in those with hiatal hernia (P < 0.05). The new metric correlated with esophageal acid exposure in the supine position (P < 0.05), and it also negatively correlated to the total reflux episodes (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference on EGJ-CI between patients with and without response to the esomeprazole treatment (P = 0.627). CONCLUSIONS: EGJ-CI reflected the dysfunction of the anti-reflux barrier in patients with GERD, but it had little impact on the esomeprazole response.
Endoscopy ; Esomeprazole ; Esophagogastric Junction* ; Gastroesophageal Reflux* ; Hernia ; Hernia, Hiatal ; Humans ; Manometry ; Proton Pump Inhibitors ; Proton Pumps ; Respiration ; Supine Position

This study is aimed to identify and assess the methodological quality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) clinical practice guidelines (CPG) in China by using AGREE Ⅱ tool. CNKI, SinoMed, Wanfang, and VIP Chinese databases from database establishment to March 2017 were searched by manual retrieval to collect all the clinical practice guidelines prepared by various associations or organizations, then AGREE Ⅱtool was used to assess them. Data in each CPG were analyzed in terms of six domains, including scope and purpose, participants, rigor, clarity and readability, applicability and editorial independence. A total of 4 CPGs were included. The results showed that the scope and purpose scored 45.8%; the clarity of expression scored 44.75%; the participants scored 31.9%; the rigor scored 18.98%; the applicability scored 7%; and finally the editorial independence scored 1%. It is concluded that the quality of applicability and the editorial independence should attained paid more attention in future development or updating of the guidelines. In addition to strengthening the compliance with international general principles, we should also pay attention to the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, especially the related evidences as complementary and alternative treatment for western intervention measures.

Objective The study aimed to establish a kind of simple,rapid,accurate and reliable method in order to simultaneous determine the phenobarbital,ibuprofen and nikethamide in the biomaterial. Methods The biomaterial were pre-treated with ethanol(v/v 95%)at pH 3~4 and then was extracted with ethyl acetate at pH 3~4 and 10~11,respectively. Finally,phenobarbital,ibuprofen and nikethamide in the biomaterial were simultaneous detected by GC-MS. The retention times and relevant characteristic fragment ions of the three substances in the total ion current(TIC)and the mass spectrogram could be used as the basis of qualitative analysis. Results The method was simple and easy operation. It has the characteristics of low background interference,good separation effect and fast analytical speed. The retention times of phenobarbital,ibuprofen and nikethamide were 8.472 min,7.087 min and 6.655 min,respectively. The characteristic fragment ions of phenobarbital were 204 and 232(m/z),of ibuprofen were 161 and 206(m/z),and of nikethamide were 106 and 177(m/z). Conclusion The method showed a satisfactory result that it could be applied to simultaneous determine phenobarbital,ibuprofen and nikethamide of the biomaterial for forensic toxicological analysis.